Black & Red, is What They Said
by Samron
Summary: Amber is trying to survive her high school year without being emotionally destroyed by others. She just wishes to be left alone, and even though she can't stand the popular people, they somehow keep ending up back in her life. She gets help from the unexpected, betrayed by who she trusted most, and learns that the scariest can sometimes be the most reliable. OCxKuramaxYusuke?
1. Emotional Burns

**Please enjoy! Read and review, and like my other stories if you have any small nothing you'd like me to slip into the story. Let me know in a review! Thanks so much! Samron**

"Burr-Burr! Come on! It'll be so much fun!"

She only calls me that fucking name when she thinks I'm being mean to her. I'd prefer to be called my real name, Amber, but my supposed 'best friend' made up the worst nickname anyone could give a girl. Just take off the 'Am' from Amber, and it sounds like 'Burr', the noise people make when they're cold. When she made that up, she told me she shivers from how cold my heart is.

I rolled my eyes, still having crossed arms. "I told you, Mika. I don't do parties." I adjusted my self in my school desk. Class was about to start, usually I'm pissed about that, but right now Mika wouldn't shut up. "Besides. I think I'll just slow you down."

"You don't know that! Just please come; you _never _go to school parties… You might regret it someday." She wined while leaning halfway off her desk to get close to me. "And besides." She grabbed my arm way too hard. "Jordan's supposed to be there." Her face glowed with excitement. Like, it was sick how much she glowed.

Jordan is a six foot two, dirty blonde jock. He's on the swim team, and is known for his powerful butterfly stroke. He made state this year and plans on going to the Olympics. Everyone loves and admires him for his hard work and great representation of our school. To everyone on the outside they see him as a responsible hard working senior. Me on the other hand, used to be on the swim team as well. My breath stroke was amazing, and I was close to making state my sophomore year, which was last year. But ever since Jordan for some reason locked his attention onto me, my swimming career was fucked. He started out by flirting with me, a whole lot. It made me feel great, and I thought for a while that he, a junior, actually liked me for who I was. I dreamed of us being together at swim meets, holding hands, and even making out after he won a big race. But he was dreaming of other things way before it was time. He rushed the physical aspect of our friendship, he always hovered, and eventually he began to get violent. Long story short he ended up trying to rape me, and ever since that day I got away, he's kept his distance but his eyes are still locked onto me.

I quit swim team, and now I just go to school and have no dreams for my future. I never told anyone because I thought it wouldn't make a difference. I haven't decided if I should tell Mika yet, but I'm starting to think I should… because she still thinks I like him, well, she still wants me to like him. But now since it was almost a year after all that happened I'm beginning to wonder if I should report it. I've changed because of him, in a bad way. And after all that I'm now afraid to be alone with boys, alone outside, and even afraid to be alone at school. Fuck. I'm afraid to be at school, period.

I covered my face with my hand, "I told you, I don't like him anymore."

She looked at me annoyed, probably because I never gave her an explanation as to why I stopped liking him. "Well, if you change your mind… I'm going."

"Yeah, I won't." I snapped out.

She rolled her eyes and sat back defeated.

I turned to her again. "So we shopping after school tomorrow?"

She frowned. "No. I told you! My Tuesdays are Shuichi days."

I sighed loudly and smacked my forehead with my hand. "Why are you SO obsessed with him? It's getting kind of creepy." I was really getting tired of Shuichi Tuesdays… My weird friend Mika got a group of strange ass girls together to help her keep tabs on our 'most popular', Shuichi Minamino. I honestly couldn't care less about his existence, but some how all the girls wanted to make his babies.

"Why _aren't _you obsessed with him!?" She shrieked. 

"Because I don't know him. And I'm not a stalker like you and your creepy little guild."

She frowned. "We don't stalk him… we just, keep tabs." She winked.

"My point made. Why?"

She looked shocked again. "Because! He's just perfect. He's smart, talented, friendly, and confident! He's like the perfect guy! If only I could hold his hand…" She stared off with starry eyes.

I curled my lip. She was right; he was attractive, for a girly boy. But he did always have the highest of high scores in school, and that's something I envied because I'm just struggling to stay in my grade. I've never met him, but people say he's polite, and was part of many clubs after school, AND was graduating with honors. That's at least what I could see from a far away distance and through the rumors. I didn't know anything about his actual personality, or his real life outside of school. He's a stranger. He looks like a girl, and he sounds way too good to be true. Besides, how the fuck does someone get _so many_ people to gravel to him? It's kind of creepy if you ask me, he's probably stuck up.

"He looks like a girl."

She gasped. "He does not! Take that back!" She slapped my leg softly. "He's just very pretty… " She giggled. "Besides, he has manly features. Like that voice… hmm! And he's tall, AND the boys that have seen him in the locker room say he's really cut!" She pointed.

"Why am I friends with you again?" I asked as the teacher walked into class.

She giggled a little louder that time, "Because you looooove me!" She almost fell out of her desk when she reached over to hug my arm.

"Ms. Sato. Could you please have a seat." Our math teacher asked loudly.

Mika perked up and waved to him with a stupid smile. "Yes Mr. Mayes. Sorry."

I always think Mr. Mayes favored her because she was so cute, and nice to everyone. Mika had the talent of befriending pretty much every type of person. The jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds, the creepy emos, and even the outcasts like myself. She'd even struck up many conversations with her 'God' Shuichi. She always made sure to wear extremely attractive nice fitting, boarder line slutty clothes. _Always _does her hair in curls, braids, pigtails, or something amazing. Wears beautiful makeup, and the fact she had such big juicy eyes adds to her cuteness. I envy her sometimes, but it's more of an admiration than envy I'd say.

She's like the perfect girl compared to me, who has long black hair, with it's annoying natural wave… so I always keep it straight. My big black eyes that always look sleepy, my pale ass skin tone and my disproportionate body. My hips and butt are curvy, but the fact there are no tits to balance them out made me feel like a fucking bottom heavy cow. I tend to stick with monotone colors, such as browns, blacks and grays because that way I won't stand out. Today I was wearing my dark brown silk blouse, with my dark wash skinny jeans. I don't usually wear makeup either, because it bothers my eyes… and it's just annoying to have to put on all the time. Mika always tells me I have an hourglass figure, and my waist in enviable. But she's just saying that cause she's my friend.

After going through math class I was pleased with all the notes I took. I felt like I got this lecture much more than yesterday. I've been behind on math for a while now, and catching up has been a bitch. Mr. Mayes, thank god, is awesome and doesn't get on me too much about how I'm behind. But he always gives me a friendly reminder when he knows it's important.

"Ms. Watson, could you come talk to me." He said as all the students were rushing out of class.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag to go stand in front of his desk. He gave me 'the eye' when he saw that and we stood there while the last bit of students trickled out of the room. "What'd I do?" I joked.

He smiled while he was sorting through some papers. "Honestly. You didn't do very well on the last homework." He cringed as he handed it to me.

I felt my stomach sink. I was trying so hard, but sometimes it was just so confusing. "I got a D?" I dropped my arms in disappointment. "I really thought I was getting it…" My head sank. I felt pissed, but I was too upset to show it. I also felt stupid, because I _had_ worked so hard… all just for a D?

He looked sympathetic for me, and reached over to pat my forearm. "I know you're working really hard. So I'm gonna pull a few strings and get someone to tutor you privately." He smiled. "It'll be one of my higher up students, and they'll get credit for it. So it's a win-win for the both of you. Ok?"

I looked grossed out, "I don't want a tutor. That just waste time, and will make me have to stay at school later."

He frowned then sat there for a moment. "Ah." He lit up. "I'll make him walk home with you, and tutor you there. Now you can't argue." He packed up his books wearing a victorious smile.

I looked surprised and that idea didn't actually sound that bad, so I didn't argue. I really did need to bring my grades up. I wonder who he's going to pick… hopefully a smart-ass nerd or something, because I need help.

"Follow me." He said cheerfully as he walked out of class.

I followed and felt nervous. I never had a tutor before, I hoped whoever they were, were nice and patient with me. Because I was a slow learner when it came to math, and got easily grumpy… We walked into the laboratory that I've never been in before, because it was the seniors. There were a bunch of scrawny nerds all playing with their chemicals that froze when I walked in with Mr. Mayes.

I looked around then stopped as Mr. Mayes walked to the front of the classroom. No shocker to me, there was Shuichi up at the front of the class wearing his lab coat and blue gloves. Mr. Mayes walked up to him while I stayed behind and they began to talk. A couple of nerds were looking at me and whispering to each other, and one of them giggled like a completely idiot. I looked over to them with a scowl and they looked away like two sheep that saw a wolf. That made me smirk.

"Ms. Watson." Mr. Mayes called me out of my wolf glare. I snapped my head over and walked up to the pair quickly.

He smiled at me, "This is Shuichi. He's going to find a suitable tutor for you. It's going to be one of his students he's working with for his senior project, so I want you to thank him for sparing his recourses for the sake of your grades." He raised his eyebrows expectantly at me; probably hoping I wouldn't be rude.

I looked to the girly boy and nodded, without smiling. "Thank you. I'm sure it was really hard for you to find people to serve you."

All Shuichi did was slightly raise his eyebrows, but Mr. Mayes' chin dropped and he looked at me with surprise. "Amber." He was frowning, and that kind of made my heart drop. The goody-goody just smiled, acting as if he didn't even hear my remark; which pissed me off. Then he looked to Mr. Mayes. "I'll assign Jason to her… he needs extra credit anyway. This seems like a win-win for the both of them."

Mr. Mayes nodded. "Thank you very much Shuichi, this means a lot to me." He glanced at me annoyed then slightly hit the back of my head with his hand. "And her."

I jerked my head, and then looked to Shuichi again, "Oh yea. Thank you." I said with a monotone voice. I really was thankful, I just don't like all high and powerful boys like Shuichi. They reminded me of Jordan, and Jordan was scum.

Mr. Mayes nodded to Shuichi. "Well thanks again, and I'll leave you to your class then." He looked to me. "Amber, he'll set you up, and introduce you two." Then he walked out of the class.

Shuichi smiled politely to me, but it seemed fake as shit. I stared back without allowing myself to smile. Then he looked over to one of the nerds. "Jason. Could you come here for a moment, please?"

Then the nerdiest of them all perked up and walked over to us. God he was ugly, and I felt bad for him when he stood next to me, barely being my own height. Which wasn't that tall. I held back a chuckle as I noticed that this guy was so pathetic he even made beautiful flower Shuichi look intimidating. Shuichi was tall, but he just was too pretty to be scary.

"Jason, we talked about you needing extra credit this semester. So here is an opportunity for you to do that." He smiled as he motioned to me. "You will tutor her on all the math she needs help with every Tuesday and Thursday, and part of the deal is you must walk her to her home, and study there."

It felt weird that Shuichi knew I needed an escort home. I'd only ever told Mr. Mayes that I felt uncomfortable walking home, so I assume he explained a little to Shuichi. I didn't tell him that it was because of Jordan, but I just told him I was scared to walk home alone. I was glad I did that at the beginning of this semester because he's always made sure to either bring me home himself, walk me to at least the train station, make sure Mika was with me, or called his son who went to college near my house. So pretty much he's taken care of me this entire semester and I have no idea how I will pay him back. That's the only reason I even tried starting to understand math, was for him.

Shuichi looked to me again, "Unfortunately Jason is busy tomorrow, so you two could start today? Then obviously next week would be Tuesday, not Monday." His perfect smile made me irritated.

"Fine with me." I tried not to look too unfriendly. Mika was right… his voice was definitely manly. Too bad he was a prick. Jason nodded and went to put his shit away. He then walked back over to me with his backpack on. It was so stuffed he looked as though he might be smashed by it. I stared at him awkwardly then glanced at Shuichi once more.

"Thanks." Then I looked to Jason. "Come on."

Jason followed me as Shuichi waved. "Good luck!"

I watched at Jason walked next to me. Was this guy really a senior? He sure was tiny… it was kind of hilarious. "Hey. I need to stop by my locker first." I said.

He barely looked at me, then nodded. Wow what a nerd. I stopped at my locker and took out the books I needed for today, then shoved the rest back inside. Then Mika walked up to me, same time as everyday. With exception to Tuesdays, we always met at this time after school no matter what, even if she wasn't walking me home.

"Hey Jason, what are you doing here?"

"Ummhmm.." He mumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "Mr. Mayes got Shuichi to lend him out to me as a tutor for my shitty math skills."

"Oh well that's great, and very nice of you Jason!" She smiled at him.

He shrugged still looking at the ground. "I need the extra credit."

We both stared at him then I rolled my eyes in annoyance again. "You going to the mall?"

She nodded, "Yup. Work starts in an hour! Good luck on your math, you can do it!" She pointed at me as she opened up her locker.

I nodded and waved as I walked away. "Have fun at work."

She stuck her tongue out at me as I laughed and turned away. Now walking outside and down the stairs the air between us became very awkward. This Jason nerd was seriously socially inept. Every time I tried to look at him he'd move his head father down than it was. Was he going to be able to help me without making eye contact with me? I sighed loudly, not caring if he heard my frustration.

"Heeeeey there Jason boy!" I heard a voice that sounded stupid. Then I stopped when we were approached by the freshman Kiba. Even though he's just a freshman he's already popular after just two months of the new school year. Only because he's known for being friends with the infamous Yusuke Urameshi, and apparently they still hang out and beat people up together. I don't believe any of it, but if it were true I wouldn't want to be mixed up with Yusuke's crowd. Guys like that probably do whatever they want to people without mercy.

He was smiling confidently as he looked at Jason, then looked at me with interest. His eyes went up and down my body, and I had the urge to rip his nut sac off. I just grit my teeth instead, as he turned back to Jason just after winking at me.

"Where you headin' off to with this beauty?"

Jason still looked extremely unconfident by actually spoke this time. "Just to tutor her… I need extra credit."

Yeah. He's said that like fifty times already. Gosh.

Jason laughed. "Of course. Like you could get lucky with this kind of material."

I grit my teeth harder. "I'm standing right here you little bitch."

His eyes widened, looked to me, and then laughed out loud. He held his stomach, as he did so. "Woooh, you're feisty. And extremely beautiful."

The tone of his voice changed from dominant to sweat, and I just curled my lip at him. "We're busy. So you can beat up Jason, or take his lunch money another time. But right now he's with me, so fuck off." I didn't feel confident saying this to him, but I only did because he was a freshman, and was smaller than me. So I felt I had a good chance with a bluff.

He put his hands up in the air and laughed, "Ooh don't worry. I'm not here to bother you guys. Just wanted to say hi to Jason." He then looked at Jason with a creepy look, and smirked. Obviously he wanted to harm him some way, but since I was here he didn't. "I'll catch you some other time then, Jason." He pointed to him as he walked away, then he winked at me again. "Catch ya later, cutie."

"What a loser." I said, and Jason snapped his head up to me. He looked way too shocked but I was surprised he made eye contact with me finally.

"What?" I said.

He gulped. "I'm just not used to people defending me."

That makes two of us… I sighed and looked down. "Well, now you can work even harder at helping me with my math." I forced a smile, and even though he was still a huge ass nerd who didn't know how to socialize, I felt like we kind of bonded right there.

After walking back home I was glad to walk into my house and remove my shoes. I was super tired, and the cold outside was really getting tiresome. I watched him as he removed his shoes and then hung his jacket.

"You want some tea, or somethin'?" I asked as I set my backpack on the kitchen table. He just shrugged at me and stood there stupidly, not moving. I rolled my eyes. "Come here, and sit down. I have to go change."

He blushed and walked over to the table to sit down. I shook my head at him, put on some water for tea then walked to my room to change. I didn't shut the door cause I knew he was way too shy to even get out of that chair, then I ripped off my nice clothes and changed into my sweats and loose tank top. I loved loose fitting clothes, and if I could just wear sweats without being judged, I would every day. I walked back into the kitchen and made us both a cup of green tea. I set his teacup down in front of him and sipped on mine, glad to see he already had all the books laid out. At least he could take charge on this math thing, because I really needed help.

"Alright. Let's start with derivatives." He said quietly.

I stared at him still surprised he was talking, and nodded. "Ok."

"How far along would you say you were?" He glanced to me.

"I don't get shit."

He stared at me now, seeming confused.

"I don't understand?" I looked irritated. "I don't know how to derive! Don't look so astounded! I'm not a smart ass like you!" I glared and then sipped my tea.

Then he looked down and just adjusted his glasses, clearing his throat. "Alright. I guess we'll just start from the beginning then." He sounded taken aback. Was it really that surprising that I was this 'stupid'? Gosh that made me mad.

Jason stayed at my house for over two hours and he actually helped me to understand way more than I thought possible in two hours. I felt optimistic by the time he was leaving my house, and actually kind of excited to see Mr. Mayes reaction to my improvement. Obviously it was going to take more than just one day for it to show, but I could see the future was promising.

"Well, I see you later then." I was holding the door opened while he walked out.

He nodded and waved awkwardly. "Yup."

I widened my eyes with annoyance as he walked away. What a nerd! But… I was very grateful for him being patient with me, and helping me understand the 'easy' stuff. I sighed and shut the door, feeling good. I felt even better when I realized this was a Monday night, and even though it was the beginning of the week, it was one of the nights that my Dad stayed late at work. So I didn't have to argue with him, or see him drunk before bed. That meant, I got to watch television and eat ice cream all on my own! I enjoyed my mint chocolate chip ice cream, and then headed to bed. Ready for the next day of school, and feeling positive about my future math grades.

I slept great, and even had a dream about my favorite movie character coming over to my house. We made pizza together and got flour all over each other, and of course after that we made out. It was a pretty great dream, and I was glad to be feeling positive on my way to school. Since I was feeling good I made sure to wear my new black lace blouse. It was hardly see through because the lace was dark, but all I wore under it was a black bra. It was long sleeved, but wasn't very warm. So to make up for that, I wore my tight jeans and my tall brown boots. I didn't feel like straightening my hair so I left the stupid ass wave in it, and decided to wear some eyeliner to balance out my shitty hair. I felt pretty for once in a long time, because going to school was a huge stress with Jordan there, and I never thought about my looks anymore.

Mika met me at the front like usual and waved at me, "How are you hotty?" She winked and spanked my butt. I glared at her and blushed, "Shut up." She always pointed out when I wore makeup, because she thinks I should wear it more. But it just pissed me off, because she made me embarrassed… though, I did like the fact she told me I looked good. She was always so encouraging. We walked to our lockers and got out our books for class, then walked into class to sit down. Science was always boring, but I got it. What I looked forward to was English, because I was actually good at writing. I hated math and didn't look forward to the test or homework, but Mr. Mayes always made it easier to be there… he was always so… nice. I was bored all day throughout class, skipped P.E. as usual, and then when math came along I was actually kind of excited.

I sat down next to Mika and smirked, "I got a tutor for math ya know."

She perked up. "Really? Who?"

"Shuichi" I thought I'd pick on her.

Her eyes somehow got as big as Frisbees, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?" She stood out of her desk, and was holding her mouth.

I laughed quietly as she began freaking out.

"You HAVE to invite me over when he's tutoring you! Then you have to tell me each time he's over there, and you have to…-"

"Mika."

"…-en we need to get together after every Tuesday…-"

"Mika!" I shouted, and my other classmates looked at me annoyed.

"What!?" She looked at me finally.

"I was fuckin' with you." I smirked and leaned back.

She looked pretty sad now, and dropped back into her desk. "Why… why would you do that to me?" And now she sounded pretty pathetic.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah right like he'd take his time out of his busy ass schedule to help a lower class student. Yeah fuckin' right. He probably thinks he's too good for me anyway." I waved my hand.

She glared at me, "He does NOT! He's a great guy, and is always super nice to everyone. But you're right. He _is_ busy, and probably wouldn't want to help grumpy pants like you anyway. He's much more optimistic than you are." She crossed her arms and sat back in her desk. Guess I pissed her off.

Leaning back in my desk as well, I sighed, "I didn't mean to insult him…" Yes I did. "But.. I just meant was that he's too busy to help me." I tried to sound less angry towards him. She just kept pouting and didn't look at me… she hated it when I insulted him, and I just didn't get why she held him so high up. He's probably a jerk anyway; she just hasn't seen that side of him yet.

After going through math class I was again, happy with the notes I had taken. They kind of sort of actually made sense as well. After class ended Mika left as fast as she could to go stalk pretty boy, and I waited as students took their time quizzing Mr. Mayes. Then when all the students were finally gone, I jumped out of my chair and ran to the front of the classroom.

"I'm gonna make you proud."

He looked intrigued, "Oh really? Why's that?" He smiled.

"Well that nerd you got me really helped, just in one day. So I see a positive outcome to all of this."

He crossed his arms with satisfaction, "Well that's great to hear, Amber. I'm glad."

His praise made me feel good. "Yeah, and even though he's super weird and awkward, he was actually sort of… OK." I couldn't bring myself to say nice yet, because he's too weird to know. Mr. Mayes picked up his bag and walked out with me.

"Well I'm excited to see results on the next quiz." He turned to me before walking away. "Let me know if you need a ride, I'll be in the teacher's lounge." He waved.

I waved back as I giggled like an idiot, and went the opposite direction of him, towards my locker. I opened it up and shoved all my heavy books inside then took the ones I needed to study with and placed them into my bag. I moved slowly because I was waiting for Mika to come meet me after she stalked Shuichi for a bit. I don't care that my best friend is a creep, but it's annoying if she puts her 'creeping' over our hangout time. I glanced down at my cell phone to check the time, and noticed she was already ten minutes late. I guess I was going to go wait outside. Right after shutting my locker I heard a voice that I've grown to despise.

"Hey, _sexy_." He bit out as he walked up way too close to me.

"Back off, Jordan." I felt scared but portrayed confidence.

He smirked down at me as if I was a dog, and I backed up against the lockers. "You're here late." He pointed out. This made me sick because he _knew _I wanted nothing to do with him. Asking him,-no…begging him to leave me alone was just something he ignored like a buzzing fly. He liked getting in my face, and not respecting me. I could tell by the look in his eyes.

"Leave me alone, please."

He frowned and I could see the muscles in his jaw tighten. But he kept talking. "So you hear that James got expelled?"

Why didn't he just leave me alone? I don't even care about James, or give a shit why he was expelled. He probably deserved it anyway, but why the hell was Jordan telling me!? I kept quiet and stared at the ground.

"Yeah. I heard he was stealing shit from Mrs. Teely." He looked up and down the halls, as if he knew he was doing something bad. Then smirked down at me again. "She's a bitch, not sure why anyone cares." He looked annoyed at me, because I wasn't responding. "What do you think about that?" He leaned in slightly lower to my level.

I didn't respond.

**BANG!**

I twitched hard when his hand slammed down on the lockers next to me. The noise was loud and rang throughout the hall. He leaned in very close to my face, and I could feel his breath while I looked back at him. My heart was racing and I was afraid.

"Look you _little bitch_. You think you can just ignore me!?" He yelled. "You think you're better than me? You can't get rid of me that easily." He was whispering now.

My eyes were wide and I tried my hardest to keep the tears back. I was so done with him harassing me. I just wanted him to leave me alone. He stepped back and pointed at me. Then to my surprise he adjusted his jacket and in a second looked back to his normal happy façade. Right then a teacher I didn't know peeked his head out of the teacher's lounge to look around. He saw us right as Jordan was walking away. He shrugged and sipped his coffee, then turned around back into the lounge.

I was shaking now, but quickly gathered myself and pulled my backpack on. I was going to go get Mika. _Now._ I couldn't stand being here any longer. I remember she said she'd be in the science lab today, so I quickly rushed over there and slammed opened the door. I didn't care who was in it, I just knew she was, and I really wanted to go. As soon as I walked in I could smell a horrible smell, and then to my surprise I felt my feet go out from under me. I flipped backwards and my back hit the floor, hard. I heard myself gasped all the air out from my lungs and now I was lying on the ground wondering what the fuck just happened. That hurt like a bitch, and my head was ringing.

"Are you OK?" A nerdy voice came from beside me. I sat up and held my head as I looked to him. It was Jason. He was holding a glass container, had a lab coat on and blue gloves. He was cringing as I looked around to see a few more nerds staring at me.

"You might want to get out of that."

Right when he said that I could feel my hands tingling slightly, and then I realized they were burning. "What the hell is this stuff?" My jeans were soaked.

He just stood there like an idiot and pointed to my jeans. "You might wanna take those off."

I looked disgusted at him. "What the fuck, Jason? What's wrong with you? Why is this shit all over the ground." The bottoms of my legs, my butt, along with my arms and hands were now beginning to burn, and he just stood there like an idiot gaping at me. I think his brain broke. "Hello!? What is this shit, Jason?" I was kind of yelling by this time.

Right then the door I just came through, opened up again and I saw Mika walk in with Shuichi. She was blabbing and he was listening patiently, also looking like he wanted to jump off a cliff… well, to me he looked that way. Then Mika stopped and looked at me excited. "Amber! What are you doin' here?" She gleamed, and then frowned, as she looked me up and down. "Uh oh."

Shuichi's perfectly pretty little face looked alert with worry and then he rushed towards me, stepping in the puddle of liquid to get to me. He quickly grabbed my upper arm, "Jason. I told you not to mix the acid until I got back." He said sternly, without looking at him.

I felt panic. "ACID!?" Right then he pulled me up off the ground with complete ease. How the hell was he so strong? Then Jason just hung his head. Still holding my arm firmly Shuichi glanced to my eyes once as he began pulling me to the back of the room.

"Come." He rushed me back into a small room in the back. I saw two showers and some sinks with weird looking knobby things poking out. He let go of my arm and quickly turned on one of the showers, then shoved me in. I was pissed because he shoved me in without warning.

"What the hell!?"

"Quickly. Take off your clothes."

"What!?" I yelled at him through the loud noise of the shower stream, and held myself tightly.

"That's acid on you, it's going to burn your skin. You need to remove your clothes." He said this extremely calm, yet he still had some urgency in his voice.

"Are you serious?" I looked pissed as I began to unbutton my black lace blouse.

He looked irritated for a moment then stepped over to me and grabbed my shirt. He ripped it opened and all the buttons fell to the floor. Then he pulled it off completely, slopping it to the ground. That was one of my favorite shirts, and all I had underneath was my bra. I was pissed.

"HEY!" I tried to backhand him. Yet some how I completely missed, I was probably panicking too much... By this time my back was burning much more, and my legs were on fire. My hands hurt too as I tried to unbuckle my jeans, but once again his hands were there doing it for me.

"I can DO IT!" I screeched as he pulled them down completely, and then wrapped his arm around my waist as he lifted me with ease while taking them off entirely. By this time I was thanking the gods that I shaved my bikini line today before wearing my black lace panties. Because his face was practically smashing into my stomach when he finally set me down.

"What the fuck, can you just chill!?" I yelled at him as I tried hitting him again. Somehow he easily stepped out of the way, and it almost looked as though he didn't even notice me trying to hurt him. What the fuck!? I was so mad about this whole fuckin' situation. He wasn't looking at me anymore as he was now holding my hair up into the water, rinsing it thoroughly. Then I felt his hand rubbing down my back, and I jerked. He stopped, and looked me right in the eyes.

"You need to let me clean the acid off your skin." Before I replied he just began washing me again, I was about to try to hit him again, but instead I started washing my arms off. His hand was rubbing my back, and I slightly got the tingles when he slid his hand under my bra strap in the back. I didn't feel uncomfortable when he moved down lower, he wasn't being creepy about it at all, and I appreciated that. Even though I still hated him for being so cold about this. He skipped my butt, and then finished cleaning all the way down my legs. I glanced back again as he stood up, and I laughed in spite, because he was all wet now. He turned me to face him and smiled reassuringly. His nice smile slightly shocked me, because it was so nice to look at. What a good faker.

"Now, I'm going to go get some new clothes for you. And you need to take your under garments off and finish rinsing your body. Make sure you're _very_ thorough." He said harshly. "And don't get out." He glanced back as he left the small room.

I just stood there now staring at the door he left from. I was surprised at how fast he acted and then I frowned remembering that he ripped my shirt. I glanced around then walked out of the shower, over to my pile of clothes. I picked up my shirt to look at the buttons, but when I held it up all I could see was a huge lightly discolored spot in the back of it. I gasped and dropped it back on the ground. This sucked! My favorite shirt was fucked by acid, and now I'm fucked by acid. I ran back into the shower ripped off my under wear, and began washing myself thoroughly. Just like he said to. I hope my skin didn't melt off! I started to get upset.

After a bit Mika came into the shower room with my spare gym clothes. She was smiling way too big for the fact that acid just got all over her best friend, but I knew she was only doing that cause of Shuichi. She was going to ask me all about it, I'm sure. But I just wanted to get out of this retched place, and go home. She handed me a towel, and I dried off.

"Check my skin, please." I turned around and pulled my towel off, and pulled my hair over my shoulder.

She walked over there and I felt her hand touch my back. "Oh man, it's all red. All the way down. Does it hurt?" She sounded concerned.

"Does it look bad!?"

"Just like a bad sunburn. Shuichi said that was diluted acid, so it probably shouldn't scar."

I turned around quickly, "SCAR!?" Pretty sure this was my worst day of this year. I held back my tears, but frowned and dropped my head. "My favorite shirt got ruined too." I waved my hand over towards the pile of clothes.

"Oh you poor baby." She reached over and hugged me while she pat my head. "Your skin will be fine, I'm sure. He said there might be some blistering, but other then that you'll be OK. And he probably rinsed you off well… also, we can buy you a new shirt." You could just hear her positive face expression.

"Sure hope he knows what he's talking about." I changed into the clothes she brought me, and then turned to her. "Let's go. Please?"

"Ok!"


	2. Stupid Regret

The rhythm of his movements was disturbing, and I just lay there hoping he'd finish soon. I wasn't ready for this but he kept pushing and I knew he'd get angry if I denied him. He was sucking my neck, and grinding my crotch with his. I still had my clothes on but his hand was in my bra, squeezing me tightly. I already said ouch a couple of times but he pretended not to hear me while he continued to shove himself towards me. I felt like I was completely alone while he kept violating me, and also very hopeless. If my opinion didn't matter to him who else would care that this was going on?

My eyes opened slowly; my damned alarm was loud. I had that stupid dream almost weekly, and was continuously reminded of that day. The day I finally stood up for myself and instead of him respecting me, he tried to rape me. Thankfully I woke up in time before the worst part happened. I can't stand the fact I still have to get up everyday to go to the school where he pretty much rules. I'm afraid, and hope I don't get caught alone with him again. Like last week. Then the stupid acid shit happened and just ruined my day more than Jordan already had. Was it bad for a person to keep this many secrets to herself? I heard it was from someone once, but then I reminded myself that no one really cares that much. I sighed and forced my body up to get ready for school. I heard my dad in the other room getting ready as well, and went to lock my door. I didn't feel like dealing with him right now, so once I was ready I'd leave quickly.

After I dressed and ate in my room (Granola bars rock), I quickly walked out of my room and to the front door.

"You goin' to school!?" I heard him yell form the kitchen, too lazy to stand up.

"Yup!" I rolled my eyes. "Just like every fuckin' day." I whispered as I slammed the door behind me.

Since the whole acid incident I've studied with Jason a few more times, and he's managed to relax while he is with me. It's much nicer, and I'm actually learning faster and better than ever! I'm pretty excited about math now, which is super weird because I fuckin' hate it. But I'm glad I'm not failing Mr. Mayes anymore. I walked up to school and saw that little fucker Kiba sitting on the steps blabbing like an idiot on his cell. He looked over at me and stood quickly as he followed me inside.

"Hey!" He yelled as I walked faster. I really didn't want anything to do with him.

"_Hey!_" He finally caught up and walked in front of me. "What's up?" He grinned like an idiot.

"What the hell do you want twerp?" I said confidently… it surprised me.

He frowned and looked to his cell. "Catch ya later man." I heard yelling from it as he shut it quickly, shoving it in his pocket. He smiled sweetly as he looked me up and down for the second time.

I rolled my eyes as I bumped passed him and walked to my locker. He followed me again and leaned against the lockers. He was just annoying me now, not a threat any longer.

"So… what's your name again?"

"I never gave it to you."

"Oh right." He laughed stupidly. "I'm Kiba." He smirked.

"That's great." I replied sarcastically.

"You don't know me?"

I looked him straight in the face, really bothered now. "Look." I looked him up and down. "Child. I'm not in the mood. Leave me alone." I forced a smile then walked away quickly. He frowned and looked like his nuts just fell off as he watched me with a defeated expression. I felt myself sigh heavily, realizing I was tense with him near me. I was glad he didn't seem to want to harass me though, just flirt; but I was still nervous.

I felt insecure and knew Mika wasn't here yet. She was always late on Wednesdays so I made a beeline to the teacher's lounge. I stopped in the opened doorway and peaked in, seeing Mr. Mayes in the back talking to Mr. Dickson, ew. I stared at them for a moment and waved my hand. Mr. Mayes glanced at me with his peripherals then continued to listen to Mr. Dickwad- I mean, Dickson. He looked as though he had to force Mr. Dickson to shut up as he walked quickly over to me.

"Hey." He smiled.

"Having fun?" I looked at Dickson.

"Haha, funny." He sipped his coffee through the tiny stirring straw.

"Just wanted to say I'm ready for the quiz today." I smirked proudly.

"Good to hear it. I hope you're right."

"I fuckin' am!" I narrowed my eyes.

He shushed me. "Amber! God!"

I laughed and covered my mouth. "Sorry. See you in math! I pointed and walked back."

He just shooed me then walked back in the lounge.

I smiled and met Mika in my first class. After a full day of horrific school I was surprised I didn't fall asleep yet. In math I took my quiz and felt I did much better than I had in a long time. I actually turned it in with a good feeling, instead of dread and full awareness of my failure. I waited back in class to see if Mr. Mayes would grade it early for me, just because I couldn't stand waiting. After all the annoying students finally left he glanced up to me with a smirk.

"I'm assuming you want to know your grade?"

I stood up quickly and walked to his desk, wearing my nicest face. "Yes please."

He sighed and took it out of the pile, and opened his red pin of death. He always called it that in class and all us students liked that he joked about it. He looked my quiz over quickly and made some marks on it. Each time the pin touched that paper I felt my heart sink. I better have made at least a little progress. Goodness this was horrible watching him grade it.

"Hmm." He made another mark. And then one more.

"What the hell!?" I couldn't wait anymore.

He laughed and handed it to me. I ripped it out of his hands and looked at the red number that he wrote at the top. It was a 76. My jaw dropped.

"You have to be kidding me!" I jumped with excitement.

Leaning back in his chair he capped his pen. "Much better Amber, I'm impressed. Now get it up to an A."

I glared at him. "A C is good enough for now! At least I'm not failing anymore." I grinned again and hugged the paper. "But I'm gonna keep studying. Cause if I can get this in a week… imagine what will happen in a month!" I spun in a circle, and felt happy. It was a rare feeling in my life these days, so it was nice when it peaked up every once in a while. Then he stood and grabbed his bag.

"Need a ride?"

I smiled shyly to him. "No thank you. Mika and I are going shopping."

"Okay." He shrugged and walked out with me. "See you later, stinker." He pat my head and walked off. I hated it when he called me that, but he thought it was cute… So I just humored him and tried not hating it too much. He didn't really call anyone else that, so I guess it was ok.

Then I turned to walk to the science lab so I could tell Jason thank you. The feeling I had was nice, and it made my shitty morning seem like a distant memory. I walked into the lab, being careful of my surroundings this time. I was not gonna fucking ruin another pair of jeans. Thankfully the floors were clean and I didn't smell anything funky. I looked around and saw Jason at his desk, half asleep.

"Hey." I leaned in.

He jerked awake and looked shocked to see me. "Amber?"

"What's up?" I asked.

Still seeming shocked he stared for a moment before answering. "Uh.. just waiting for this sample to take." He swallowed and pointed to the weird spinning machine. I stared at it for a sec then looked back to him.

"Guess what I go on my quiz today?" I grinned.

He looked slightly more awake as he straightened up. "What?"

"A seventy-six!" I jumped.

"Oh wow. That's way better than a sixty-one."

"You don't have to remind me." I snapped. He just lowed his head in submission and I rolled my eyes. "So tomorrow we can start moving faster… ya think?" I felt excited about math? Wow this was disgusting.

"Sure. If that's what you want." He just adjusted his glasses then put his gloves back on.

"I want." I said flatly.

He glanced at me awkwardly. "Ok… Then we'll do that." He pushed a button on the spinning machine and it stopped. He took out a small glass container and opened it up. Staring at it without moving, he then threw it in the trash sighing very loudly.

"What's wrong?" I frowned.

"I did it wrong." He said as he sat down looking defeated. It was kind of sad actually seeing him show real emotion for once. And he sure looked upset as he stared off into space.

"Why don't you ask for help?" I was curious.

He laughed sarcastically. "Yeah. Right…" He looked at me with a lost expression. I felt kind of bad for him as I remembered his comment about people never standing up for him. "No one wants to help me." He mumbled.

Frowning I looked around, and saw the little Prince Shuichi across the room reading a huge textbook. A bunch of other nerds were working on shit as well, but they seemed much more busy. I glanced at Jason again then walked towards Shuichi. Jason perked up and looked shocked as he watched me walk up to the Prince.

"Hey!" I snapped.

He looked up from his book very calm, and it pissed me off when he faked a happy smile. "Hello there, how are your burns?"

"Why don't you help out your slaves? Hmm?" I leaned in towards him.

He glanced to Jason then back to me, as he sat up straighter. "Slaves?" He looked disturbed. "Does someone need help?" The pure concern and honestly in his voice made me gag. He was such a good actor and I was surprised that I almost fell for it.

I crossed my arms. "Yeah, Jason fuckin' needs help. He's obviously too afraid to ask you for it, so you should just go over there and offer some."

Watching me like he was watching a television show he then glanced to the side uncomfortably. Ha, I was making him squirm and that made me happy. "Well, when Jason needs help, he'll ask me. Right now I'm busy, but you can tell him I'll be here."

"He just told me he needed help." I motioned in anger.

"He needs to ask me himself."

I gaped at him and felt shock. What a fuckin' snob! "Wow, ok. Thanks for nothing, ass hole." I walked off and he blinked in astonishment. Has he ever heard that insult before? I snorted. Probably no one's ever said that to him, because he's so perfect. What a prick. After walking back to Jason I picked up my bag and told him goodbye. He seemed like he hadn't even noticed what I just did, and it confused me when he didn't comment. So I just left. Nerds… I can't deal with that many in one room.

By the time I arrived to my locker I felt less angry. I just couldn't get why everyone always thought the ass holes were the nice ones! I can't understand it, and it was starting to make me go crazy-I was so ready to be done with high school. Mika jumped up behind me and attempted to startle me. I just turned around slowly and smiled at her.

"Nice try."

"Psh! Don't act like you weren't scared." She giggled. "Ready to go shopping?"

I felt excitement and nodded. "Yup! We gotta find an even better shirt than my last one."

"Agreed!"

We began walking out of school and then there was that fucking Kiba douche bag again! Was he stalking me or something!? He was just sitting on the steps chewing on a toothpick. Cliché…

He glanced up at us and grinned. "Ladies!" He stood up and turned to face us. "How are you, Mika?" He grinned confidently.

How was I not surprised that she was already his friend? Jeez.

She smiled and poked his nose. "Doin' fine! How about you, Kiba?"

He blushed like an idiot and looked shy all the sudden. "Good. I've tried introducing myself to your friend, but she's a tough one…" He smirked at me.

I glared in disgust. "You mean you tried to flirt with me like a little prick?"

"Amber…" She corrected me. I just glared at her and then looked uninterested.

"Amber huh? That's a cute name." He smiled, seeming more real this time.

"Maybe I would have told you if you weren't such a tool!" I snapped.

Mika rolled her eyes, "What am I gonna do with you two?"

"Oh well. I didn't know you were friends with Mika…" He said guilty.

"So you're a tool to people you don't care about?"

He didn't say anything and looked down.

I rolled my eyes and scoffed. "Can we go?" I looked to Mika.

She frowned and then glanced at Kiba. "Sure."

We started walking away and then he stepped in front of me again. I was about to slap him but he spoke up fast enough.

"Look! I'm sorry. I just… feel like an idiot sometimes around pretty girls. Well… around most people I don't know. So I act like a douche. Ok? I'm sorry. Let's start over?" He put his hand out. "I'm Kiba! It's nice to meet you, Amber." He grinned.

For some reason this was shocking to me… well not for some reason. No one ever fucking did this sort of shit. So it was amazing to me that he just admitted to being a tool bag, and said sorry all in less than one minute. Wow. Maybe there is hope for the world.

I glanced at his hand then shook it quickly. "Yeah, whatever. I forgive you. I guess." I let myself smile and Mika put her hands together in satisfaction.

"Awww." She leaned over and pinched his cheek, pretty hard. I laughed and he yelled out.

"GAH! FUCK! That hurts! Jeez Mika…" He rubbed his cheek.

"You're such a good boy." She leaned over and awarded him with a kiss on his cheek. "Bye-bye!" She waved as we walked down the steps. And he was blushing.

I felt pretty good actually. It was rare for people to say sorry, and especially for them to say it to me…. Maybe I just made a new friend? I smiled to myself still deep in thought. Then all of the sudden I was bumped out of it quickly and roughly, as I was slammed to the ground. I fell on my butt and grunted out in pain and surprise. I didn't see that wall there!

"Holy fuck." I heard a male's voice.

"OUCH!" I said as I looked up then realized that it definitely wasn't a wall.

"Oooh…" Mika said as she took a step back.

I saw a boy in a school uniform from the high school down the road. His hair was dark, and slicked back…. He was looking down at me wearing a surprised expression, and his dark eyes were intense. I felt fear as I realized that this guy was Yusuke Urameshi. Shit. Why was he here? What the hell? I just rammed into him too, why the fuck was I such a space cadet? I stood up quickly and brushed myself off.

"Um. Sorry about that." I forced a smile, even though I just wanted to leave.

He held his chest and sighed. "No biggie. You ok?" Then he looked more interested as he looked me up and down.

"Uh… yeah. I'm fine." I felt uncomfortable and squirmed. But I _was_ surprised he wasn't yelling at me or something.

"K cool." He smirked at me, then seemed distracted. He waved and glanced at me nodding, then walked away. I glared at him as I watched him walked up to Kiba. They shook hands and hugged… like guys do, and then they walked inside the school.

"Why the fuck is he here?" I asked.

Mika shrugged. "I wouldn't know. He seemed nicer than people say though!"

I rolled my eyes. "He had no reason to beat us up! He was probably in a good mood. And did you see how he looked at me?" I grumbled.

"Hmm. Yeah I guess… Glad he wasn't pissed."

"There should be some sort of rule against other students coming into our school or something. That's not safe!" I pointed.

"Yeah.." She seemed bored with this now.

I glanced at her then frowned. "Let's just go."

"Ok!"

After shopping I dropped her off at her work, then walked to the train station. I was glad that we not only found another awesome lacey shirt, but I also found a white silk blouse and another pink one. Even though I never wear pink it was really nice fitting, and Mika bought it for me. So it made the shirt like ten times better. I had my shopping bag close and my backpack on while I waited for the train. The sun was setting and it was beginning to get cold now. I looked around the train platform and was surprised to see Jason standing there waiting as well. He had he ear buds in and was staring at the ground. I wondered what kind of music he must listen too…. I walked over to him and pat his shoulder.

"Hey."

He jerked way too hard and looked at me. Then relief filled his features as he took out his ear buds. "Oh. It's you." He laughed a little then looked down.

What the fuck? "You… ok?" I looked awkward.

Nodding he didn't look up and seemed embarrassed. "I just… saw Kiba following me. So I'm a little jumpy."

I felt pissed off. "Why is he following you?"

He laughed and looked to my eyes. "Obviously to torment me. He's always telling me how he's gonna make me cry and hurt me so bad I'll beg him to stop." He rubbed his forehead. "He hasn't done anything so far, but today he was with Yusuke Urameshi! Maybe it's the day he's finally decided to kill me…" He sounded pretty pathetic.

"Yeah. I saw him…" I glared at the train tracks. Why the heck was Kiba picking on him? He didn't seem like that bad of a guy! Maybe that ass hole Urameshi was forcing him to be a bad kid… who knew. "Are they tight?" I asked.

He just shrugged. "I dunno. But Urameshi isn't someone I want to mess with…"

"Yeah…" I didn't want to mess with him either. I didn't like people like him… they were ruthless and had no conscience. "Well. Just let me know if you ever need an escort or anything. I know the feeling of bein' afraid on your way out of school… or on your way to school… or even in school." I frowned.

He stared at me. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Is that why Mr. Mayes makes me walk you home?"

"Yup. And I appreciate it." I smiled to him.

"Like I could ever actually defend you…" He sounded even more pathetic now.

I wasn't sure what to say to that, because he was kind of right. "Well… at least I'm not alone. And sometimes people won't mess with other's because they aren't alone. So it's better that we are together… Right?" I tried to be positive like Mika.

"Sure." He just seemed too defeated to be positive.

I felt bad for him and sighed.

"So… I heard you called Shuichi an ass hole…?"

I froze. "Really?" Was that prick telling on me now?

"Yeah. Why'd you get so mad at him?" He seemed amused.

"Because!" I looked at him. "I told him you needed help, and he said you could ask him yourself! I mean what the hell!" I felt embarrassed a little, but _not_ guilty!

He looked stunned and stared at me for a moment. "Ooh…" Then he looked away, wearing a nervous expression.

"What?" I demanded.

"It's just…"

"Just what?" He was talking so slow.

"Well. Shuichi says I need to work on asking for help. Because… I barely talk to anyone, and especially never ask for help. I kinda have a problem with it."

"Who cares what he says! He's still a jerk." I wasn't guilty.

He fidgeted with his glasses. "Well… I kinda asked him to help me with that. By making me talk more. He's tryin' to help me stand up for myself more." He shrank as he said this now mumbling.

I stared at him as my face slowly went to a frown. Ok. I felt guilty now. I just yelled at Shuichi for really no reason, and he really was just trying to help this loser Jason.

"Fuck." I just said as I looked forward.

He looked down, still nervous and shrugged. "He wasn't mad. He just reminded me that I need to tell you that…. Because I was supposed to tell you that at the beginning of our tutoring… but I thought it was stupid. So I didn't….Sorry." He pushed his glasses up his nose.

Oh my god. Now I just look like an idiot who can't control her anger! Shuichi even helped me with the acid last week, and my thank you was calling him an ass hole? Wow great. I slapped my face. "I'm an idiot."

Jason shrugged again. "No. I appreciate you trying to help. It's my fault." He sniffed.

I looked shocked at him. Was he crying!? Wow he really is pathetic!

He rubbed his eye once and sniffled again. "I just…. Can't do anything right."

I frowned and felt really bad now. Holy shit how was all this making me feel guilty? I didn't want Jason to feel bad, or even Shuichi… even though I don't care about his feelings as much; he had everyone behind him. Who did Jason have? Seemed like no one… well, maybe Shuichi was helping him a little.

"Hey.. it's ok. I'm not mad at you." Yes I am.

He shook his head again and let out a shaky sigh. "It's ok. You can be mad. I could tell Shuichi was disappointed with me for not telling you. I hate letting him down."

"Why?"

"Because… he believes in me. Yet I keep letting him down."

"Is he actually nice? Or just trying to get more points for graduation?" I sneered.

"What are you talking about?" He looked surprised at me. "He isn't helping me for school, he's just helping me to help me. No one else knows he's doing this except you, me and him…" He sighed again and then sniffed.

"Really?" I felt more guilt. Jeez. I wish I just kept my mouth shut. Now I needed to apologize! Not because I care about his feelings… but just because I don't wanna look like a total bitch… and so he won't hate me and maybe hurt me. I dunno. There's plenty of good reasons why I should just say sorry. I was being an idiot after all.

"Well. I guess I'll start making you talk more then. You tutor me with math, and I'll tutor you with socializing." I smirked.

"Ok." Was all he said.


	3. Creeps and Cuts

It was about a week after Jason finally came clean to me about his social problems. I still haven't apologized to Shuichi because I haven't really seen him around… but I wasn't looking for him either. It was going to be hard to bring myself to apologize to the prince… but I knew I needed to eventually. Ugh. It was Tuesday so I didn't get to hang with Mika after school, and Jason said he'd be late to get me so I just decided to go for a swim. I try to keep up my swimming skills even though I'm not on the team anymore. It's important to stay in shape and I don't want all my hard work to go to shit. The pool was empty and I loved it this way. No one would bug me, and I could just swim forever. I already finished my three hundred warm up, and a five hundred choice… now I was almost done with my one hundred butterfly. I try not to swim too much because it makes me feel depressed thinking of what I could have been, but every once in a while was ok… and it was still fun for me to imagine being in the Olympics. While finishing I imagined that I came in second (I mean logical dreams are the better ones), everyone cheered for me, my father, Mika… even Jason! And I was happy with the silver medal, and proud to represent my school and country. I was breathing hard now and glanced at my watched to see my time. It was the same it had always been, and I was glad it hadn't changed. I was breathing hard and the water around me was still moving.

Then I heard clapping… it startled the shit out of me. Was Jordan here!? I felt panic and wondered if I should just jump out and run for it, but I forced myself to look over and was surprised… relieved, and yet, still scared.

"That was great!" Said Yusuke Urameshi as he stood from the bleachers. He wore a huge grin, and his confident stride made him seem even more intimidating. I stayed where I was, not talking. Why was he here? Did he want something? He didn't even go to our school! I was so confused, yet still scared as I watched him approach the poolside. He squatted down next to me with a smirk.

"Why you all alone?"

"Why are you watching me?" I demanded, yet was terrified because he pointed out that we were alone.

He frowned. "Chill out, I'm just waiting for someone."

I felt fear again, and mentally slapped myself for being a bitch. I also decided it was a good idea to stay in the water. I probably had the advantage in here, where it was deep. I assumed he wasn't that amazing of a swimmer… well, I hoped.

"Well, it's creepy to watch people when they don't know you are."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever." He stood up and went a few steps away. I noticed he was walking funny… was he limping?

"What's wrong with you?" I swear I had no filter.

He perked up and looked at me with surprise. "Wow you sure are nosy, specially after bein' such a bitch."

"I'm not the creep watching people."

"I wasn't fuckin' creepin' on you! I'm just waiting for someone, and you happen to be here… God dam." His face turned a little red, he must be getting angry.

I made myself shut up then I breathed out. I didn't want to make him rage at me and drown me…

"Well, ok." I glanced awkwardly to the side. It was hard controlling my anger, but I wanted to live, so I didn't piss him off any more.

He was still pacing and the limp was a little easier to see now. He was good at hiding it, and I wondered why he was limping. I thought he was the toughest of them all? Maybe he got shot… maybe he's involved in gangs. He did look stressed… it was time for me to leave now. I probably didn't want to meet whoever he was waiting for.

"You aren't… gonna hurt me are you?" I sounded like an idiot.

I saw his jaw muscles clinch and he snapped his head over. "I have no fucking reason to hurt you, but you're sure starting to give me one!"

I raised a hand up. "Ok! Sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to piss you off. You just make me nervous… ok? Why are you even in our school?"

"You ask a lot of questions." He was still clinching his jaw.

"Sorry." I frowned and hesitantly got out of the pool.

He stopped pacing and glanced at me through the corner of his eye. I felt my adrenaline rush as he watched me gather my things. He sighed loudly when I finished and put his hands in his pockets. I felt slight relief and glanced at him again as I walked out and now he was just staring at the ground. I wonder if he was ok? My second encounter with Yusuke Urameshi and I was still in one piece… he's kind of an ass, but he seemed troubled. Maybe he's not a huge mindless pounding machine like people make him out to be. I wasn't going to risk getting to know him though… it's safer keeping my distance. Once I got into the girls locker room I quickly showered and changed my clothes… then while I was combing my hair I remembered that Jason was supposed to meet me at the pool… My eyes widened and I dropped everything I was doing. Just in my jeans and bra I ran out of the bathroom as quick as possible without slipping. When I got out to the pool area I looked around quickly, hoping I wouldn't find Jason being ripped apart by Yusuke and Kiba. But I didn't see Yusuke anymore. Then I heard a cough and looked over quickly to see Jason sitting on the bleachers all alone. He was looking very embarrassed and was red. I felt relief as I frowned and walked over to him.

"I was just checking on you..."

He wasn't looking at me. "Oh."

I glared then remembered I didn't put my shirt on… "I'll be right back." I quickly ran back into the locker room and got dressed. What the hell? Did I just panic about Jason's well being? I guess we _were_ friends… I gathered my things and walked back out to the pool. I sat down on the bleachers next to Jason and he finally looked at me.

"Sorry… I was panicking."

"Why?" He looked like he thought I was weird.

"Well I was swimming out here waiting for you, then all the sudden I realized Yusuke Urameshi was watching me!"

His eyes got wider and he gulped. "He was _here_?"

"Yeah, he said he was waiting for someone. But he was really just bein' a creep."

He cringed. "Wow, that's scary. I'm glad I didn't bump into him… makes sense you ran out here so fast…" He smiled down. "Thank you." He looked up to my eyes.

I felt weird and looked away as I shrugged. "No biggy." There was an awkward silence but then I forgot about it as my mind wondered again.

"I wonder who he was waiting for?"

"Probably Kiba."

"Yeah… probably."

"…"

"Ready?"

"Yup."

We walked back to my place and the cold crisp air felt nice after my hard workout and hot shower. Jason seemed cold so I let him carry my bag to warm him up. I laughed when he started wining and explained to him that he needed to get some muscle on him. Once we got back to my place I was pissed to see my dad's car parked out front.

"Dammit."

"What?" Jason said as he looked over his shoulder.

I glanced at him. "My dad is home."

"Is that bad?" He sounded worried.

"Well no. He's just annoying."

"Oh."

I looked at him again then walked inside, holding the door opened as Jason followed. He set our bags down on the table like always, and I began to boil the water for our tea. I looked around and didn't see my dad, so I hoped he went to bed or something.

"Who's here!?" I heard his stupid voice yell.

Jason jumped and looked afraid; and I rolled my eyes. "Just me and a friend dad!"

"Come here!" Was he really so lazy he couldn't get up? I grumbled. "I'll be right back." I said to Jason.

He just nodded as I walked into my dad's bedroom. Like always he was sitting on the bed with a beer watching TV. I glared at him and crossed my arms.

"What?"

He looked annoyed. "Don't be snippy with me."

I clenched my jaw shut as to not say anything else, then sighed.

"Who is here?"

"Jason. He's helping me with school."

"You're struggling with school?" He sounded so surprised.

I felt like laughing in his face, and telling him I was struggling daily. Not only with schoolwork but also with people harassing me, ass holes hitting on me and a constant underlining fear that I have to deal with. But I just kept my mouth shut, because he honestly wouldn't care anyway. I told him about Jordan last year, and his only response was 'are you sure he was really trying to do that?'. So I learned never to tell him anything anymore. It was too exhausting for me.

"Dad, he's just tutoring me. I have to go."

He rolled his eyes and looked annoyed. "Whatever. Just don't be too loud, I gotta work in the morning." He switched the channel to the TV now ignoring me.

I stood for a moment as the emptiness I was used to quickly faded, like normal. Pushing it down and forgetting about it like this probably wasn't the best, but what else was I supposed to do? Then I walked out of his room and shut his door, glad I knew he wouldn't bother us. I went to my room and changed into my favorite baggy sweat pants and sweater, then walked back into the kitchen. I was surprised to find Jason actually helping himself and pouring our tea. He glanced up at me and smiled like nerd and I smiled back…

"Hey. Thanks." I said as he handed me my tea.

He shrugged and sat down. "Ready?"

"Yes." I sat down, ready to conquer this fucking math.

"Before we start though, I just wanted to say sorry again about not telling you what Shuichi told me to tell you. I thought about it a lot more and realized you were just trying to help me, and ended up yelling at him because of my lack of communication." His head was low, and he wasn't looking at me. "I want…. To get better at talking to people, and the more I get to know you the more I realize that you are actually a good person. Not just a snotty pretty girl." He shrugged and adjusted his glasses.

A snotty pretty girl? I laughed a little and felt glad he was bringing it up again. "Well just the fact you are talking about this again shows you are trying. So it's really no problem. I was pissed at you before, but me yelling at Shuichi wasn't your fault. I just can't stand people like him. So thanks for apologizing again." I leaned in a little more to smile at him. He forced himself to glance at me and then looked back down.

"Why do you hate him so much?"

"I just… don't like the fact the everyone sucks up to certain people. Like the caption of the football team, the prince, and the hottest girl. They are usually all bitches and jerks anyway. I used to date a guy like Shuichi and thought he was the most amazing guy ever… but it ended up being a façade and he was actually a total sicko." I frowned.

He was finally looking at me, and listened very respectfully. "Well Shuichi isn't like that."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah."

"How well do you know him?" I felt annoyed.

"Not that well…" He frowned.

"Yeah, which means he's just good at acting."

"But you don't know him either. You can't just say that."

"I'm choosing to say that. I'd rather decide he's an ass than think he's great and be proven wrong later."

He sat in silence for a moment and then picked up his pencil. "Well…" He fiddled with it. "You sure are negative."

I'm negative!? Wasn't he the one crying just the other day about being a loser!? What the fuck… I sat there for a moment wondering why I felt so pissed off, then I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. I think you are just stuck in the cloud with everyone else."

"Or you're scared to like him… I mean, there isn't anything wrong with him."

I snapped my head over to him. "I'm not scared of him! He's a fuckin' flower! Are you kidding me? And I'm sure there's _plenty_ wrong with him."

He looked straight at me, but looked afraid. "Ok. I dare you to find one thing…"

"What?"

"Find one thing that's wrong with him." He shrank.

I cringed at him. "Easy. He's a cocky ass hole."

"You have to get to know him first. That's judgmental, you don't even know him." He sat up straighter.

I rolled my eyes. "It's pretty obvious."

"No one else thinks so."

I wanted to punch him. "Oh my god. Fine. I'll find something for you." I pointed at him.

"You actually have to be nice too."

"Okay!"

I was proud he was actually speaking his mind but it pissed because he was annoying me so much. I laughed a little to myself after realizing that this little scrawny nerd was getting to me so much, as he looked at me with a confused expression. I laughed a little louder and to my surprise he laughed along with me. We laughed a little together then I sighed loudly.

"You win ass hole."

He smirked and nodded. "_If_ you find something let me know." He was taunting me now. I backhanded his arm and he flinched pretty hard, but laughed again as he raised his hands up.

I laughed too and shook my head. "You fucker. Let's study."

He was still smiling. "Ok."

After we studied for a few hours Jason left and I went to bed. I felt happy that we studied successfully but also happy because Jason and I seemed to bond a little more. And I think I saw a little of his real side… a slight smart ass that likes to pick. He was actually relaxed and I was glad I'm able to make him comfortable enough to be himself. I fell asleep happy and was ready to go to math class head on.

The next day I decided to wear my new pink shirt that Mika bought me. I was surprised that last night I was in such a good mood, and more surprised that it stuck when me this morning. So pink it was… the lace was a little see through so I wore a tan tank top under it. I loved the way it fit my body, and it made me feel good. I made sure to wear my tight black jeans and then have my black hair up in a bun. Since I was wearing Mika's shirt she got me I decided to throw on a little makeup as well. This day was starting off nicely, and I actually felt pretty. Wow. I left my house and walked to school and when I got there Kiba was sitting on the steps out front, texting on his phone.

He perked up when he saw me and walked to meet me. "Hey Amber!" He sounded way too excited, but I let myself smile to him.

"Hey loser." I smirked even more.

"Aww.." He smiled. "You look great."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks. Like my new shirt?"

"Hell yes." He looked me dead in the eyes, and his serious tone caught me off guard. I wasn't used to guys being so forward with me, and even if he was just a freshman it was nice that he was letting me know his thoughts.

I laughed a little and then smiled. "Thanks haha… Mika bought it for me."

"She has great taste."

"I agree." I felt awkward now and started walking inside.

He followed me. "Sooo, how was your day?"

"Fine."

"That's good. Mine was alright."

I remembered something and since it was a good time to bring it up I stopped when I got to my locker, and faced Kiba.

"Question."

"I have the answer."

I glared. "Seriously."

He held his hands up in the air. "Ok. I'm listening."

I hesitated but Kiba seemed like a decent enough person not to get mad at me. "Why do you have to mess with, Jason? He's obviously not as strong as you but he's now terrified of you."

"Jason who? That nerd you study with?"

I frowned. "Yes. He's my tutor, and my friend."

"You guys are _friends_?" I almost laughed at his shocked expression.

"Answer the question." I crossed my arms.

He frowned and lowered his head in shame. "I dunno. I guess I am kind of conducting business… in a way."

"What the fuck does that mean? Why don't you bother someone else?"

"Well, it's not that easy." He smiled to me.

"Yeah it is. Stop screwing with him."

He looked down again, wearing a serious expression while taking in a deep breath. "Yeah, um like I said. It's not that easy." He cringed at me.

"So you just wanna fuck with him… and won't even stop if I ask nicely?"

He looked upset, finally a transparent expression. "It's… more complicated than that, Amber." He wouldn't look at my eyes.

"What are you talking about? Did he do something?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Then why the hell are you messing with him?" I was getting irritated now.

"Because."

"Because? That's the shittiest answer you could've given... Look at me!"

He looked at me, and his face was sad and stressed. First time I've seen him not looking stupidly happy or confident. I felt stress as well as I tried to figure him out… he seemed nice but wouldn't explain his pointless harassment on Jason.

"So you aren't gonna stop?"

He looked to the side. "I _can't_ stop." Then he looked straight into my eyes again.

I frowned, feeling creeped out now. "You can do whatever you want. I can't believe you won't just leave him alone. I thought you were a nice person, and now I'm just fuckin' confused." I waved my hand and took my books from my locker. He frowned and stared at the ground. Then looked to me again.

"I'm sorry."

"Whatever." I didn't look to him as I walked to class. He was pissing me off, and I felt stupid that I ever thought we could be friends.

Even though my good mood was slightly ruined by Kiba's strange behavior it still stuck with me, especially when I looked in the mirror. I looked great! Amazingly enough, but I was glad I felt as good as I looked. So going through the day of classes was much easier because I stayed positive. I walked into math class feeling ready to conquer when I sat down at my desk.

Mika looked at me and smiled with surprise. "Wow! I love that shirt on you! And your hair is so beautiful up like that! You cutie." She winked at me.

I smiled. "Thanks…" Then I watched her for a moment. She looked kind of upset. "What's the matter?"

"I just saw Shuichi, and his lip was split opened!"

I felt annoyed, but curious. "Why?"

"I don't know! I didn't have time to go ask if he was ok, but looks like he got punched or something! I feel so bad for him." She frowned. "It was scabbed over, but still looked pretty bad."

I chuckled. "Maybe he got beat up."

She snapped her head towards me and glared. "You're so mean! That wouldn't be funny!"

"It's a little funny. He's such a flower." I laughed again.

She glared harder at me. "You wouldn't be laughing if it were me!"

"Of course I wouldn't." I frowned.

"So stop laughing at him! You don't even know him, and I care about him, so be nice." She crossed her arms.

I rolled my eyes. "Fine. Fine. Sorry. I hope he's ok… bullying is not cool, but knowing him he probably just was working real hard on something and accidentally smacked himself…" I had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't know him!

"Yeah, let's hope." She sighed.

I rolled my eyes once more then watched as Mr. Mayes walked into the class. He was wearing his gray button up that I loved, and I felt myself get excited to comment on it. Math just made my mood even better when the whole lecture was pretty much understandable… I really owed Jason he was an amazing tutor. I felt refreshed after class and was happy with the notes I took, now getting all of them. After class I walked up to Mr. Mayes' desk and smiled at him.

"Nice shirt."

He glanced at me, then smirked. He knew I loved that shirt so he just laughed. "Thanks. I made it myself."

He did not. I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Whatever, you weirdo."

He grinned at me, "How was the lecture? To your liking?"

"Oh yeah, it was almost good."

"Oh! I'm so blessed I got an 'almost good' from Amber!" He held his chest in sarcasm.

I giggled. I don't do that much, but when he's around giggles slip out.

"I actually understood it too." I felt proud.

He smiled to me and pat my shoulder. "Good job, Amber. You're _much_ smarter than you give yourself credit for."

I felt my face get hot and I looked down. "Thanks." Then I walked back to Mika. We walked out of class together and she left quickly to go to work.

"Hey."

I turned around to see Mr. Mayes walking up to me. "I have something for Jason, he's doing something with me for his senior project. Could you give it to him when you see him next?" He held out an envelope.

I took it and nodded. "Sure."

"Nice shirt." He said to me as he winked.

I blushed again and smiled. "Thanks. It's new."

"Pink looks good on you."

"Thanks." I rolled my eyes but felt myself blush harder.

"See ya." He waved.

"Bye." I mumbled and looked back in my locker. Pink was a good idea.

I looked at the envelope in my hand and it was pretty stuffed full of paper or something. It seemed important so I slipped it in my backpack. I wasn't going to visit Jason today, but since I need to give this to him and… apologize to Shuichi, I might as well go say hi. I sighed loudly as I walked to the science lab. I went in and just like always all the nerds were spread throughout the room working hard on their projects. I looked around for Jason and saw him across the room with Shuichi talking. I frowned and sat at his empty desk to wait for him. I easily noticed the dark red split in Shuichi's lip. It looked pretty fresh so he must have just gotten it in the last few days. Maybe he was clumsy like me? Who would hurt him…? He's 'perfect'. Pffft. I scoffed as I watched Jason laugh along with him. I rolled my eyes then turned and took out my math notes; might as well review while I'm doing nothing. I sat for a while and ended up just starting my homework. This was weird I never did homework early…

"Hey. What's up?" Jason said as he walked up to his desk.

"Oh hey." I sat up straighter, and then he looked at me differently than normal and I felt confused.

"What?"

He swallowed. "Nothing." Then he looked away quickly. I could barely make out a red color in his cheeks behind those big glasses. "What'd you need?"

I furrowed my brow at him and felt confused. "Uh, I just came to give you this. Mr. Mayes said it's for you." I pulled the envelope from my backpack and handed it to him.

"Oh, Thanks." He smiled and took it, placing it on the desk.

I found myself staring at Shuichi now… for some reason I was stupidly curious about what happened to his lip. He must have fallen pretty hard on his face, slammed pretty hard into a wall, or gotten punched by either himself or someone else. You don't just get that kind of split from dry weather. It was more obvious because his red hair matched it so perfectly, and then his pale skin was such a contrast to it… it was kind of mesmerizing.

"Amber?"

I was jerked out of my thought process. "Huh?" I looked to Jason.

He smiled at me and laughed a little. "You there?"

"Oh yeah." I laughed a little and hit my head. "I'm a space cadet."

He raised his eyebrows. "No duh."

"Hey." I glared.

He laughed and looked down. "So you ok with that?"

"With what?"

"Wow you really are a space cadet, I was just talking to you!"

"Oh…" I felt stupid.

"What were you thinking about?"

I felt shame when I realized that Shuichi was distracting me so bad that I tuned out Jason. What the fuck? He's so intriguing yet so irritating. I hate that red head. "I wasn't really thinking, I'm just tired." I laughed, that lie was shit.

He just nodded. "Ok. Well I was just saying that I am gonna be late again tomorrow, so you can go swim or something while you wait?"

"Oh yeah. That's cool with me." I smiled. "You should swim with me sometime!"

He stared at me with a shocked expression. "Really?"

"Of course goofus! It'd be fun! Are you any good?"

"No." He shot out.

I laughed out loud, kinda… too loud. "OH. Ok."

He looked up to me and smirked. "You gonna go talk to Shuichi?"

I frowned. "Why the fuck would I do that?"

"You just keep looking at him."

I grit my teeth. "I do not."

"Uh-huh."

"Shut up!" I slapped his arm, and he flinched way too hard.

He rubbed his arm and frowned. "Ow."

"Baby." I said as I felt my rage coming back down. He just started working on his project again and I let myself relax. I guess it was obvious when I would stare… because I talk about hating him so much. God dammit, and I still owe him an apology too, but just seeing him in real life makes me not want to give him one. I glanced at Jason again, then sighed loudly.

"I'll be right back." I forced myself to stand up and walked up to the front of the classroom. Shuichi was just reading some book and writing down notes on paper. He looked pretty bored actually, but when I got closer I could see that even with that huge split in his lip he was still 'perfect'. Why the hell…I cleared my throat and waited for him to notice me. He looked up to me, and to my surprise didn't smile right away. He actually looked kind of surprised, and that made me uneasy.

"Ms. Watson?" He raised his eyebrows.

I felt tense and tried my hardest not to glare. "Um." I sighed, then looked to the side. "Jason told me all about his social problems… and that he was supposed to tell me everything, but didn't. So… I'm sorry about callin' you an ass hole the other day, cause now it makes sense on how you acted." I sighed again. "Let's start over?" I looked to him, forcing myself to seem open minded.

He sat there for a moment looking at me, then smiled. It was a real smile too, and I felt butterflies when he did it. What the fuck? "Well, thank you for the apology. And honestly, I feel pretty stupid myself for just assuming you knew. Forgive me." He nodded his head once in apology. I didn't expect him to say sorry too, so that threw me off guard.

I nodded and waved my hand. "No biggy. We're even now." I forced a smile. He chuckled and the deepness and warmth to his voice made me feel funny. I swallowed and shifted uncomfortably.

"I do appreciate you being the way you are to Jason, he needs more friends. And even though he can be hard to deal with sometimes, once he opens up he's quite a fun person to be around."

"Yeah, he's pretty nerdy. But we get along…" I looked away.

He smiled again and nodded. "Thank you."

I felt weird and wanted to leave… but I was trying to not be judgmental for Jason, so I didn't want to act like I hated him any more. "So… what happened to you?" I asked hesitantly as I pointed to my own lip.

His eyebrows raised and he sat up a little straighter. "Oh nothing really. I'm rather clumsy and slammed my lip against a table when I bent over to pick something up. Quite embarrassing actually." He laughed nervously. That's what happened? He must have been bending over pretty quickly. Or those lips of his are way too sensitive. Just the idea of him being sensitive was hilarious to me, so I decided that he was just too soft and easily damaged.

I chuckled and then quickly held my mouth. "Sometimes things happen…" I just sighed awkwardly and looked to the ground.

He smiled at me, now noticing my awkwardness. I could tell he felt slightly uncomfortable, probably just cause I was acting like such a fuckin' weirdo.

"Well. See you around…"

"Of course. Have a nice day, Ms. Watson." He smiled.

I waved and walked back to Jason. I felt really weird because I was just so nice to him… even though he still makes me feel a little angry and sick. Also… was I going to let myself buy that excuse? When are people that clumsy? Well… I did say I'd be less judgmental of him, so I guess I'll believe his lame story. He could really just be that lame… it was kind of cute though when boys were stupid. Whatever. I sat back down at Jason's desk and sighed loudly.

"How'd it go?"

I glared at him and frowned. "Awkward."

Jason chuckled. "What'd you talk about?"

"I just say sorry for yelling at him last week…" I picked up one of his weird sciences tools and played with it.

He watched my hand. "And he was nice about it?"

I snapped my eyes to him, feeling annoyed. "Yeah. He was a perfect angel."

"Thought so." He grinned.

I rolled my eyes and threw the tool down on the table. "Ok. Well, I've gotta go. See you tomorrow?"

"Yup." He nodded once and started working again.

I picked up my bag and walked out of the classroom. I decided to go see if Mr. Mayes was still here so he could give me a ride home. With Yusuke Urameshi wandering around here and Jordan possibly being anywhere I didn't feel safe really at all. So I walked to the teachers lounge and peaked my head inside. I saw Mr. Dickson like always, Mrs. Moxon, and then finally Mr. Mayes! He was in the corner grading papers so I let myself walk inside the lounge. Students weren't really allowed in here but they didn't care if I came in later in the day like this. I walked up to Mr. Mayes and smirked… all those papers spread around in a mess around him was cute.

"Busy?"

He looked up to me with surprise and smirked. "Oh, not at all."

"You grade my test yet? It's my first big one since I started tutoring."

"This is my other class. I'll get to your eventually."

I sighed. "Hmm."

"You need a ride?"

I was glad he knew me well enough to get why I was here. "Yes."

"Cool. Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready."

"Okay…"


End file.
